The main house at Tittenhurst Park Estate
John Lennon in the white drawing room at Tittenhurst Park,
known as 'The White Room' this is an iconic iamge, similar to that of the Imagine video
The Royal Charter Rolls in The Palace of Westminster dated March 20th 1239, say that a "Gift to the prioress and nuns of Bromhale, in frank almoin, of fifty acres Reading. of heath, by the king's perch, of the king's demesne of Windlesour, in Laverset upon the water of Bagset, thirty acres of heath in Hurtle under Chabeham, and twenty acres of heath in the king's demesne of Tetenhurst in the parish of Suninghill to be essarted and cultivated and held quit of regard and view of the king's foresters..." so, the land (mainly woods) at 'Tetenhurst' as it was called, sometime later it was named 'Titness', and finally 'Tittenhurst Park' (an amalgamation of both names 'Tetenhurst' and 'Titness') was given as a gift to the prioress and nuns of Bromhale to cultivate. In 1737, a Georgian stucco mansion in the Grecian style with an Ionic portico was built on the land, believed to have been designed or improved by William Henry Crossland, an architect and built by local craftsmen; it has been owned by many wealthy individuals including Thomas Holloway; Captain Sir Reginald A. E. Cathcart; Mr T.A. Lewinsky; several others, including Peter Cadbury of Westward TV; two Beatles and now an Arab Sheikh..
The main house at Tittenhurst Park comprised of many small rooms (well, smallish); in 1969 walls were removed at John and Yoko's request to create more open space. This contemporary feel reflects John Lennon and Yoko Ono's minimalist/fluxus art approach. It seems that their open-space living was in advance of any present modes of living, that is more favourable with people these days, with many millions of properties now being made more 'open-plan'. Much of the ground floor at the house at Tittenhurst Park was converted to a single large room, decorated only in white, including fixtures, fittings, objects, art work - on paper, and fixed to the walls, glass table and grand white piano all reflect the clear and somewhat clinical space that John Lennon and Yoko Ono designed. The piano was bought by John Lennon in December 1970, and delivered to Tittenhurst Park where it put in a large room at the front of the house, known as
The White Room; it was here that John Lennon sang Imagine with Yoko Ono opening up the large white shutters during the song to reveal the open grounds, and allow the light to flood into the The White Room in the film and music video. Sadly, the main house and surrounding outbuildings have been extensively refurbished at great cost to suit the taste of the current Arab owner. This is probably more in- keeping with Georgian houses of the period, but less with the style of John Lennon and Yoko during their stay. The gardens have been landscaped and a new Summer House constructed in the grounds.
>I have featured a CGI of The White Room at Tittenhurst Park in the Blog Title<
London Road, Sunningdale, Ascot.
ReplyDeleteOn behalf of John Lennon, his publishing company - Maclen, bought this fine Georgian house and 72 acre estate on 4th May 1969 for £145,000. After moving in on the 11th August John and Yoko lived here for just over two years. The gardens, named Tittenhurst Park, had been open to the public until the Lennon’s moved in, they date back to 1763 (at a place then known as 'Cracks Hole, in the Parish of Sunninghill') and are internationally renowned among dendrologists for their scores of interesting trees, many rare. Originally, the main house comprised many small (well, smallish) rooms, but walls were ripped out at John and Yoko's request to create more open space. Much of the ground floor at the front of the house was converted to a single large room, decorated in white.
Tittenhurst Park was the location for the final photo session showing the four Beatles together to promote the forthcoming Abbey Road album, an historic event which took place on Friday 22nd August 1969 (two days after their last recording session together). Having had his latest composition (an ode to heroin withdrawal) rejected by the Beatles, John finally finished the group at an Apple board meeting a month later on the 20th September 1969, John recorded "Cold Turkey" as the Plastic Ono Band, completing it on the 5th October. Four days later (on John’s 29th Birthday) Yoko was admitted to hospital where she suffered another miscarriage on October 12th.